In the years following America's terrible Civil War, the fate of the U.S. Marine Corps rests in the capable hands of Zachary O'Hara. A first-generation Irish-American and son of a legendary war hero, O'Hara is the one man who can prevent the dissolution of his father's beloved "Wart-Hogs," thereby ensuring his own future as a valuable member of this proud and vital branch of his nation's armed forces. But a dark secret weighs heavily on this tormented, dedicated warrior. And the greatest obstacle to his mission is one he never Amanda Blanton Kerr, the passionate, obstinate daughter of the ruthless industrialist who's the Corps' fiercest adversary. A beautiful heiress on a mission of her own, her destiny will intertwine with O'Hara's in the tumultuous decades to follow, forcing him to confront the devastating choice no soldier should ever have to between his duty and his desire; between his country and his heart.